


Abstraction of The Fade

by Spellweaver



Series: Between Earth and Thedas [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Dark Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Grimdark, Magic and Science, Magical Realism, Modern Character in Thedas, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Profanity, Prostitution, Science, Self-Insert, Slow Burn, Super Mega Ultimate Slow Burn, The Blooming Rose, Though not until later, Vashoth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:24:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9214712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spellweaver/pseuds/Spellweaver
Summary: Audrey should have known when she decided to write in a journal over her laptop something was very wrong. Finding herself in Thedas just as the Blight reaches its tipping point, she has to find a way to survive. Anyway that she can.





	1. Divide-and-Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Comavampure and LonelyAgain for their help with everything. Coma helped provide the original scenario, though I've since put my own spin on things.

Audrey groaned as she started at the computer screen in front of her. She tucked the strand of lengthy brown hair falling into her eyes behind her ear. Programming wasn’t that hard. Math could be conquered through intense binge studying. She needed to persevere. At the moment, it felt like the answer was a touch beyond her reach.

Which would hint at the fact that she needed hit her class notes more before trying to press on. Yet, Audrey wanted to try and out stubborn the current roadblock she’d hit. As she had advanced through her degree, she had expected the difficulty spike. This was more than expected. Not that anyone had said that this would be an easy class, but… she needed to take a break. Connecting to Discord and talking to her writer friends would be a tad too distracting.

She could spend an hour or so working on the idea for her new fic. So she’d have something to show off the next time she could connect.

The semester had been intense so far, so she had started working on the assignment earlier than usual. Which is to say, she did not plan to procrastinate and leave it to the last minute. So, while she wasn’t in a rush, being too distracted wasn’t a good idea either. At least until later in the evening.

She did not expect to finish the whole assignment today. Get enough done so she could breathe easier tomorrow. She could then spend more time on Discord tomorrow. It was going to be her birthday after all. Talking with her friends without having a weight on her shoulders would be nice.

Audrey was about to open the document in Googledocs, but something stayed her hand. Transcribing the text would be an extra step. But, it would be nice to finally use the pretty journal she had for something other than as a paperweight.

She’d picked it up at an Indigo in the local mall the summer before. It was a pretty, shiny turquoise, with silver filigree embellishments. It did not lock, but had two sturdy latches, and a thin red ribbon attached to the binding. It looked magical. It had been kind of surprising to find it at a chain bookstore.

She had gone to the store with friends from work, after their shift. They’d browsed the store for a good solid hour at least, going through the colouring books. They all picked up a particularly cheeky one while giggling to each other. Then they went up the escalator to browse.

At that time she had gone with the intention of picking up one book in particular. World of Thedas Volume II. Although, in hindsight, she would have saved a pretty penny by ordering from Amazon. Still, it had been a fun day and a nice memory.

It had caught the corner of her eye when she went to pay for her books. The shelf opposite the cash had a variety of journals, of all shapes and sizes. It ran a few feet across, a massive shelf that only held journals. That journal in particular… called to her. It glinted in the store’s fluorescent lights. She had to buy it.

So with a joke, and a smile, she added it to the pile of books she bought. She’d never even written in a journal before, well, outside of elementary school, but it was too perfect to pass up. Even if the price tag had made her wince inside.

Audrey had been playing around with a variety of ideas for a while. She’d wanted to join the bandwagon of inserting a version of herself into an mcit fic. Following a well trodden path, putting her own spin on it. How would she react to being dropped into Dragon Age? A little guilt gnawed at her for her currently untouched document of the next chapter of her current fic...

But, a new beginning would be good. A renewal. And it wasn’t like she’d be writing to the point of having to put off her work another day. She wanted to jot down some of the basics, and the introduction. So she took the journal from its position on her desk as a paperweight, and plopped down on her messy bed with it.

She would want to be a somewhat special at least, that she could admit to herself. Audrey had already decided the race of her self-insert. Going over it again wouldn’t hurt. Humans were boring, elves were a dime a dozen, so a dwarf or a qunari would be the answer. Dwarf was already being done, and done well, so that left qunari. Not that qunari were bad, but Audrey did like being special. They needed more love in the fandom too, particularly female qunari. Or rather, vashoth.

Somehow, it felt right to write these things down again, even though it was redundant.

A power fantasy never hurt anyone. Men could do it and be called something like ‘Batman’ or ‘Goku’, but when a woman did it they called her a ‘Mary Sue’. Not that she planned to go over into ridiculous territory, but goddamnit she wanted to have fun.

“‘Hmm… Horns or no horns?” Audrey murmured, tapping the journal with the end of her mechanical pencil. While simple, that question had been bothering her for a while.

Audrey had already been over this with her friends on Discord. She could appreciate the aesthetic of horns. But there was a superstition that those born with no horns were meant for greatness. Horns would also be weird for a person who wasn’t used to them. She wrote that down as a something to nail down later. Changing height would be strange to experience. Yet, even the shortest adult Vashoth would likely be taller than Audrey.

So, she’d decided to only increase her height by a few inches. Enough to be what would amount to the shortest full blooded qunari ever, but not too much of a change. Although, having every in built reaction off by a few inches would be enough to make her clumsy again. As a person on Discord had already pointed out. But not as bad as what would have been if her height shot up by more than a foot.

All her features would then stretch to suit her new body. Same light brown hair and eyes. Pale skin that turned to a crisp in the sun, tinged with grey to show off the change in species. Claw like nails like the Qunari in DA2, and pointed teeth. A hair away from being a straight insert. So by transferring over, she wouldn't lose weight and gain muscle mass. She would have to earn that. Like in real life.

And so Audrey continued to write. And write. Time passed. Despite telling herself that she’d stop to have the time to work on her homework, she continued writing. Why, well she didn’t bother to ask herself that question. Her hands went through the motions, but the more she wrote, the less what she was writing stayed with her.


	2. Who knows how much time has passed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey comes back to her senses. Kind of. If you squint and turn your head to the left a little.

Audrey came back to awareness with a gasp. That turned into gagging as she vacated her stomach as the stench of her surroundings hit her. She could feel the bright sun scorching through her clenched eyelids. Odd, as she had been inside. She fought to keep standing as disorientation hit her next. Audrey lost the fight to keep her balance, and she tried to kneel down away from where she thought her vomit was.

And then, the sound of clashing blades and an explosion hit her ears. The smell of smoke, rotting flesh and something she’d rather not like to think about, was already heavy in the air. Audrey took a moment to bend over and spit out the rest of the bile in her mouth. Her eyes were still closed, as if not being able to see things made them less real.

Something about where she was did not compute. But for the life of her, Audrey could not seem to recall where she’d been last. Other than the fact that she should still be in her room. She could open her eyes and take a gander. She tried to, but her body remained unresponsive. Some primitive belief hiding at the back of her mind saying that if she couldn’t see it, it wasn’t happening. She could feel something that couldn’t have been her vomit soaking through her pants. Mud?

The sound of battle was fading. Audrey couldn’t be sure if it was because she was losing consciousness, or if the battle was actually ending. What the victors would do to her, if they would even notice her, was up for debate.

“Are you alright?” A gentle voice and touch on her shoulder jolted Audrey out of her daze. At least to the point where she was able to open her eyes. Able to see concerned golden brown eyes peering at her from an all too familiar face. A soothing warmth spread out from the feather light touch. She became aware of how she’d been breathing. She had also only realized how much her throat had been burning after the feeling had faded away.

“Mother, do we have anything to clean her with? She’s filthy. Covered with soot, vomit, and who knows what else.” The same voice, not as clear. Talking to someone nearby? It was hard to stop staring at her.

“Here you are Bethany, it is not the best, but the least we can do for the poor dear.”

These people were familiar to poor Audrey. Too familiar. She saw the other familiar face come closer and hand something to Bethany. The others must be close by, but if they were talking she couldn’t hear them.

She could feel a coarse, damp, cloth wipe her face, after a murmur of, “Please stay still while I try to clean you up.”

Audrey could feel the tears starting the burn at the corner of her eyes, but she held on. Was she dreaming? Hallucinating? Bethany had helped clear her head with what Audrey could presume was magic, but she still felt unreal. Her hands were then also wiped down. Audrey hadn’t realized they were dirty.

Her stomach rebelled when she thought about what they’d been covered in. A corpse was lying on the ground a touch too close to where she was kneeling, and a chest was nearby. That particular combination stirred up a certain memory of the game. She knew where, and when they were. A quick glance to her left revealed a familiar hill. If Audrey hadn’t already vomited, the sudden sensation of her stomach dropping would have done it.

Audrey now wanted to try and grasp at the dream like quality that was fading away. She could not help but realize how much of a mistake that would be. She knew this area, or at least thought she did. Who knows how much the developers had to simplify to portray the current events in a video game. Was Varric telling her tale now? A hysterical giggle almost worked its way out of her throat.

Still, Audrey was able to say an even, “Thank you,” in return. That earned her a momentary smile, a quick flash of straight teeth hidden behind pert lips. The smell of lilacs and sunshine overwhelmed the stench of decay as aches Audrey didn’t know she had faded. The smell accompanied the sweep of pleasant tingle of warmth down her spine. Audrey couldn’t help but wonder if she’d missed the smell before. Then Bethany’s expression shifted.

“You- she’s a qunari!” Bethany recoiled. Bethany put a decent distance between them, as if she expected Audrey to attack her. Or something. Gone was the rough cloth, and soft touch.

The sound seemed to echo, and Audrey could see a few others start to head their way. They were blurry, lacking details. Her sight wasn’t bad enough that all she could see were indistinct blobs. She still lacked a certain level of detail while they were missing. Audrey could feel her heart start to thud as she wondered where her glasses were. She took a deep breath in her nose and looked at Bethany.

“An ox-man? What’s another one doing here?”

“The one they locked up in Lothering… he… he killed my friends, and their parents. They’re dangerous Carver!”

Oh, of course. Their only interaction with a Qunari would have been with Sten. Audrey had to do something and fast. If they left her here, well, dieing would be the least of her concerns. Not that Audrey wanted to die, but it could be much worse. Hespith came to mind.

Telling the truth now would make everything too complicated, and take too much time. They had a meeting to make, and being late would have the worst of consequences. It was time to think on her feet and put on her big girl panties. Kirkwall would be safe, at least from the Blight. Everything else, she would have to put off until later. Much later.

“Well, if you’re so concerned it’ll hurt us Bethany, let’s just leave it here. No harm, no foul. We have to keep heading south. ” A woman who must have been Hawke finally walked close enough that Audrey could see her.

“W-wait! Please don’t leave me. I know vashoth have a bad reputation, but I don’t want to die! I’ll do whatever you want. Just take me with you, please.” Audrey forced out, even as she felt a stubborn tear fall down. Cold grey eyes bore into her own. Audrey could see Hawke give her a once over, and then glance away. Daggers were sheathed on her back. A rogue. And given what she’d said so far…

“And head to Gwaren.” Hawke finished, lifting a single black eyebrow. Was she a Red Hawke?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Comavampure and LonelyAgain!


	3. Her Only Hope

Audrey cringed and looked down. A glint of light reflecting from her right caught her attention. There, among brown muck she sure hoped was mud, were her glasses. They were within grabbing distance, filthy, but in one piece. She liked them, the half rimmed frames fading from black to blue around her ears.

All she could do was hope that they hadn’t been scratched. She took her time to reach for her glasses, and with a cringe began to wipe them with part of her sleeve. Huh, she was wearing appropriate clothing. Strange. But, less lies to tell. She had an over the shoulder satchel, and no clue what was in it. If they were scratched, there would be no replacing them. Someone else starting to talk jerked Audrey back into the present and drew her gaze.

“We can’t just leave her here Hawke. Whether or not she’s a qunari.” A blurry figure topped with red hair interjected. Aveline, if the voice wasn’t enough to give her away.

An armored man was beside her… Wesley? Oddly enough, he remained silent. He would succumb to the Taint after the battle. If they were where Audrey thought they were anyway. She knew she could be wrong, but she had a feeling she wasn’t. They were right before the ogre...the ogre. An idea niggled at Audrey. Hawke was a rogue and Carver would die. But he didn’t have to.

“She’ll just slow us down, just look at her. There is no way she can help us fight our way to Gwaren, Aveline.”

“It’s the right thing to do. There’s enough of us that we can protect at least one more non-combatant.”

“We’re forming enough of a party as it is. What’s one more person, sister? ” Someone with broad shoulders and a light coloured shirt interjected. Definitely Carver. Her last playthrough had been with a blue mage Hawke. Audrey was familiar with his sarcastic quips and voice.

“I suppose it does seem like she cannot defend herself… her hands were so soft. If she were not a Qunari...” Bethany added.

“I’m uncertain… a Qunari barbarian? Our neighbours payed dearly for the mistake they made in helping the other one.” Leandra couldn’t help but pipe in.

Audrey put her glasses on. And moments later regretted that decision. At the very least, she could finally see distances. It was the unusual additions that had her worry scurrying back. A kaleidoscope of colours, and shapes reflected on the lenses of her glasses. That was new. There were corpses where Hawke had come from. Audrey could see black tentacles beginning to take root under where they lay. Darkspawn?

The thought made her attention zero in on Wesley. She could see inky black tendrils weaving into his icy blue aura. Bethany was the brightest, but Hawke was a close second. The mish mash of colours, and the creeping vines of the Taint almost made her take off her glasses. At the moment, being able to see the ground was paramount. If she tripped she wasn’t sure Hawke would let them wait for her… or if she would become a distraction to the Darkspawn. Not to mention the only place to put them was the side satchel she had. Who knew if whatever was in there could scratch her lenses. Best not to risk it.

So. First step to trying to convince Hawke to take her with them...she needed to stand up. Under her own power. So, bracing herself and trying not to breathe deeply, Audrey attempted to stand.

She wobbled, but managed and said, “Please help me, you’re my only hope. I’ll repay you… somehow. My name is Audrey Dogwood.”

Even had she never played the game before, the leader of the group was obvious.

Hawke’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. She could see the colours fluctuating in Hawke slow as the latter seemed to come to a decision. “Alright Dogwood, but remember, you owe us.”

Leandra added, now deciding to take a more civil approach. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances Audrey, I’m Leandra Amell. These are my children, Marianne,” she gestured at Hawke, “Bethany, and Carver.”

“Nice to meet you.” Audrey forced a smile, hiding a wince when the fact her teeth grazing over her lips surprised her. They felt different. Sharper? No, now was not the time to think about it. She could explore everything later. Later. Later.

‘ _If there even is a later._ ’ Swept through her mind like a tidal wave.

“I am Aveline Vallen, and this is my husband Wesley.”

Wesley nodded at her, but remained silent. They began to walk towards the incline that world make them or break them. Flemeth would arrive soon. They would be fine. Audrey on the other hand...

Foolhardy was the most generous word to describe the plan brewing in her mind… but if she could pull it off. She could at least get to Kirkwall without owing them a fortune. Getting to Kirkwall would be worth it, even if the plan to get into the city itself was still undefined. She needed a way out of Ferelden. This foolhardy plan could well kill her, but if Carver died, Audrey knew who would make the best scapegoat. The significance of saving his life was an afterthought.

She would have mere moments to make a difference. The clock was ticking as they made their way to the hill that lead to where everyone’s fate would be sealed.

Walking was interesting. Audrey got more than one weird look while she tried her best to keep up with everyone. It wasn’t that the pace that was set that was getting to her, though it was a bit faster than what was in her comfort zone. It was the fact that everything seemed to be closer, or further away than it should have been. She’d almost tripped once already.

She also felt nauseous. A different sensation than what had heralded her arrival, the smell overwhelming her. This was almost like car sickness. Audrey had a strong stomach, her initial reaction aside.

Yet, as she was walking she was almost unable to stop from gagging up whatever was left. The slight dizziness was also have been something she could have done without.

Everything felt off, alien. Aside from the fantastical situation she found herself in- and they were there. It wasn’t like it was far from where they started. She took a moment to glance at the cliff Flemythal would land on.

‘ _Oh… I should probably make a point to not even think of that name from now on. Shit, now I’m thinking about it. I’ll screw up and fuck, fuck, fuck. How would she react? How should I react when Flemeth arrives? I’m not meant to be here._ ’

She should have said something… but by delaying them, would anything have changed? The ground began to rumble. The ogre was approaching. Audrey made the effort to stay by Leandra and Carver. In their grief, she’d be an easy target. He had actually been a voice supporting the group taking her along. She needed to save him.

Worst case scenario, at least the ogre would be fast.

And who knows? Shoving him out of the way might change what would happen enough so she wouldn’t die. A cool kind of calm settled over her.

‘ _Not long now._ ’ Audrey barely contained herself from whispering it.

The ogre came charging, its roar reverberating down her spine. Leandra pulled Audrey with her when they all made way for the towering darkspawn. In any other situation, seeing the petite noble lady dragging a vashoth would have been funny.

Carver was by their side but a few seconds later.

Audrey could see the muscles rippling along Carver’s arms as he raised his sword into a ready position. Leandra was clinging to her arm, and Audrey could feel her warm breath wafting into her ear. In any other situation, she might have found it comforting. The ogre loomed like a hangman's axe in front of them. Carver was the only obstacle between them and the huge darkspawn. Seconds more.

“You souless bastards!” Carver’s war cry and the clang of metal as his sword hit the ogre’s armguard thrust Audrey into action. There would be no room for mistakes.

She shoved Leandra off of her arm, ignoring her indignant yelp, and ran forward. She was at Carver’s side in an instant.

Her eyes met the ogre’s as she screamed and waved her arms, “Hey asshole!”

“What-” Carver started, but the sound of her heart pounding drowned out the rest of his words.

The ogre growled. Time slowed to a crawl. Audrey could feel a droplet of sweat slide down the small of her back. If anything did happen now, it would be her fault.

‘ _I don’t want to die!_ ’ Was a mantra pounding at the back of her head as the ogre began to reach down.

As she felt the meaty fist of the ogre wrap around her Audrey could see the colours shift behind its rack of horns. What actually changed, she could not tell.

It felt like she hung there for an eternity. The rotten stench of the ogre’s breath wafting into her face as it growled at her. There was some other scent as well. The staleness of an ancient crypt that had been cracked open for the first time in millennia. A terrible shudder went through Audrey as she looked at it, as it was now looking at her with its clouded over eyes. Diseased. She could see little else but the creeping vines of taint not quite overlapping it, pulsing through it? There, but not there. The kaleidoscope of other colours she could see apart from the Darkspawn were the same. Something to think about, if she survived this.

And then time resumed.


End file.
